Sir - One of the major reasons why we do not have effective government is the domination of our Government's time by Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland is like a child growing up that requires a great deal of attention. Every time the assembly goes down or major events take place, a litany of intensive talks start that take up large volumes of time.

One has to wonder if there was any time for domestic politics at all? The British government has criticised the amount of time Northern Ireland has taken from them in dealing with its affairs, diminishing the attention it should have been giving to other parts of its jurisdiction.

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